‘Granting an option to purchase a shareholding to a party for a significant sum as relief for unfair prejudice was within the court’s discretion under the Companies Act 2006 s.996 despite valuation evidence showing the company was balance sheet insolvent.’

‘Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: In what ways has Re Kingstons Investments Ltd shed light on longstanding ambiguities in the Insolvency Rules 1986? Jamie Riley, commercial litigator at 11 Stone Buildings, explores the case and explains why the final decision will be so important for insolvency lawyers.’

‘The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SEEBA) and the Deregulation Act 2015 were added to the statute book on 26 March. Both contain provisions that make significant changes to the Insolvency Act 1986.’

‘Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: Discussing the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) judgment in Comité d’entreprise de Nortel Networks SA, John Jessup of 11 Stone Buildings says the significant point to be taken from this case is that those who plan to open, or have opened, main insolvency proceedings can do little to prevent secondary proceedings being opened in another member state.’

‘In a consultation paper published on 18 June 2015, the Law Commission considers whether prepaying consumers should be better protected in the event of company insolvency, either through improved voluntary mechanisms or required by law.’

‘As a matter of construction of article 4 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Commencement No 5 and Saving Provisions) Order 2013, which spoke in specific terms of an administrator “appointed pursuant to the provisions of Part II of the [Insolvency] 1986 Act” and a company which had “entered into administration under Part II of the 1986 Act”, administrators appointed pursuant to the Investment Bank Special Administration Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/245) were denied the funding possibilities available to other administrators.’

‘The Court of Appeal made rulings following determination of issues raised in the administration of three companies as to the potential liability of two members in the group for the liabilities of the principal trading company, an unlimited company, and in particular its subordinated liabilities, and the relationship between their liability, if any, as members and their claims as creditors.’

‘Where the debt in a statutory demand itself was not disputed but the debtor relied on a cross-claim which did not equal the debt but fell short of it by less than £750, the statutory demand was not necessarily to be set aside under the residual discretion in rule 6.5(4)(d) of the Insolvency Rules 1986.’

‘The defence of ex turpi causa non oritur actio is not available to company directors in a claim by the company for conspiracy to defraud the company because the directors’ conduct cannot be attributed to the company in the context of its claim for a breach of the directors’ duties. Section 213 of the Insolvency Act 1986 has extra territorial effect and can be invoked against the directors.’

‘Rule 7.55 of the Insolvency Rules 1986 had no application in circumstances where a meeting of the board of directors of the company purporting to place the company into administration out of court pursuant to paragraph 22(2) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 was inquorate and accordingly the resolution to appoint an administrator was invalid.’

‘If a potential defendant is insolvent, it is a matter of critical importance to the potential claimant if they are able to assert a proprietary right over money or goods as opposed to a mere personal claim for damages.’

‘The recent decision of Mr Justice Edis in DavisonSebry v Companies House and the Registrar of Companies [2015] EWHC 115 (QB) has highlighted how, in the interconnected age of the internet, the careless click of a mouse button can have incredibly far-reaching consequences and abruptly destroy the business of a successful company. The unusual facts would suggest that further cases against the Registrar (against whom judgment was entered) would be unlikely, not least because the reporting procedures are bound to be tightened up.’

‘Successful parties to insolvency cases will not be prevented from recovering conditional fee agreement (CFA) “success” fees and legal insurance premiums from their opponents from April, after the UK government extended a temporary exemption from the general ban “for the time being”.’

‘When considering whether to exercise its discretion to make a bankruptcy order on a debtor’s petition, the court was to have regard to whether the petitioner could show (1) that he had a sufficiently close connection with England and Wales; (2) that there was a reasonable possibility of benefit resulting from the making of a bankruptcy order; and (3) that one or more persons interested in the distribution of assets were persons over whom the English court could exercise jurisdiction.’

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision that a Sussex law firm wrongly paid out £2.28m it had received from a group of investors in what turned out to be a doomed airport investment scheme.’

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